President’s Chapel Spotlights Five Faculty and Staff Award Winners
At the annual President’s Recognition
Chapel on May 4, 2004,
Seattle Pacific University singled out five faculty and staff members for excellence.
In fields as diverse as science and athletics, these employees had one thing in
common: a commitment to SPU’s vision. As the academic year drew to a close,
Response asked each of the honorees, “What are your current projects?” and “What keeps you passionate
about your work at Seattle Pacific?”

PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCECynthia
Fitch Associate
Professor of Biology
In presenting Cynthia Fitch with
the President’s Award for Excellence, SPU President Philip Eaton
noted that her scientific specialty  genetics  has been much in
the news of late as the worldwide discussion of genetic engineering
issues continues. He added, “She comes to these issues as a Christian
person challenged to excellence, as a scientist engaged in cutting-edge
research.”

In the new Science Building, Fitch and her students study
chromosomes, using fluorescent tagging. She sees tagging as a teaching
tool and as a research technique for medical diagnostics and other
wide-ranging applications. “The great thing is, the students and
I get to work on tagging right here in our own labs, which keeps
us completely current,” says Fitch.

Her significant contributions
to Seattle Pacific extend beyond the classroom. As pre-med and
pre-dental program advisor, Fitch is instrumental in helping SPU
students consistently achieve a 90-plus percent acceptance rate
into medical school. She is advisory to Ivy Honorary; serves on
the Undergraduate Policies and Evaluation Committee; and co-leads
the weekly Biomedical Ethics Cadre. “I work with students who are hungry for challenges and eager
to explore the world around them,” she says. “They make my job a
pleasure.”

PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCETom Box Director
of Athletics
In athletics, people test themselves against high standards,
and they risk everything for a goal. “I enjoy being around people
like that every day,” says Tom Box. “Our coaches and athletes are
hard workers, and to our good fortune, they are also successful.
It makes being a cheerleader at the home competitions all the more
satisfying.” Partly because his job involves telling the story about
SPU athletics to donors and friends off campus, he tries to attend
every home event in all 14 Falcon varsity sports. “It’s important
for me to support our teams,” he says.

Eaton presented the President’s
Award for Excellence, calling Box “the kind of person who has never
met a stranger. Many of us have the privilege to call him friend.
He is a mentor to both staff and students, demonstrating his faith
in everything he does.

”What makes Falcon athletics stand out? “The
character of our athletes is what we place a premium on,” says Box,
who earned an M.B.A. at SPU in 1980. “We take great pride in ensuring
our athletes get faith formation experience.”

STAFF MEMBER OF THE
YEARBrad Gjerding Computer and Engineering Systems Analyst
Things
have changed since Brad Gjerding graduated from Seattle Pacific
in 1965. “Back then,” he says, “we worked with punch cards on a big
computer across town. Now there are 15 gigabytes of software on each
computer in every lab on campus.” In 1975, Gjerding had his own business
doing research in advanced flight-deck display systems, which Boeing
finally put to use on its 767 years later.

Officially, Gjerding works
for SPU’s Electrical Engineering Department, but he takes care of
the computer labs for all the sciences at the University. “My favorite
part of this job is mentoring,” he says. “When students ask for help,
I give them just enough information that they can discover the solutions
themselves.”

Gjerding offers a bit more information to those who
aren’t as interested in computers as they are in teaching. When Staff
Council President Kelley Unger presented him with the Staff Member
of the Year Award, she quoted a faculty member: “Brad makes it possible
for faculty to concentrate on teaching by making technology work
for them instead of making them work for technology.”

STAFF MEMBER
OF THE YEARShelley WestermanChemistry Lab Coordinator
One person
who nominated Shelley Westerman for the Oral V. Hemry Staff Member
of the Year Award said this about her: “Shelley is a prayer warrior
who is successful because of her connectedness with God and her desire
to ultimately serve him.”

Recently, Westerman discussed her faith
with a chemistry student whose friend had cancer. The student,
who came to SPU from another country, was surprised to find a staff
member so open in talking about Christianity. “I sometimes forget how great
it is to be able to talk about God at work,” says Westerman.

Working
in new laboratories at the Science Building is quite a change,
says the Seattle Pacific graduate of 2000. “The old building had one big
open laboratory space; it’s wonderful to now have specialized labs
and work spaces.” She likes working directly with students and faculty
members, helping with experiments and ordering special chemicals
for classes. “Every day, there’s always a new ‘problem’ to solve,
and that keeps things interesting,” she says.

FACULTY MEMBER OF THE
YEARPatrick McDonaldAssistant Professor of Philosophy
Bri Clark,
2003–2004
president of the Associated Students of Seattle Pacific, explains
why students chose Patrick McDonald for the honor of Faculty Member
of the Year: “He integrates his Christian faith in classroom material;
he expects academic rigor; and he personally relates to students.”

McDonald
keeps office hours in the Student Union Building, so students can
carry on a kind
of Socratic dialogue with him outside of class. Because of this
visibility for the philosophy program, he envisions more students
taking philosophy classes and combining philosophy with another
field in a double major.

In class, McDonald engages students in
asking fundamental questions, including those from the Book of
Job: “Why am I here?” “Is God listening
to me?” “Why do the righteous suffer?” When it comes to stem cells,
abortion, pacifism and even watershed rights, his students learn
that philosophy is a way of evaluating these issues. “They need
to figure out which things are central to their lives and which
things are on the periphery,” says McDonald. “Philosophy is abstract,
but its questions hit close to home.”

From the President
As Seattle Pacific University gains notice nationwide, President Philip Eaton
challenges the community. “Build your city on a hill so everyone can
see what you are doing,” he writes. “Build a reputation.”

Equipped for Success
An endowment helped 2003 graduate Vickerie Williams gain the confidence to
become a key employee with Philips Medical Systems. [Campaign]

Three Faculty Say Good-Bye
As they retire, three professors mark the completion of their remarkable careers
at Seattle Pacific University and beyond. [Faculty]

The 2004 Medallion Awards Alumni awards spotlight 10 Seattle Pacific graduates who
have engaged the culture in various ways. [Alumni]

Attack of the Big-Screen
ClonesResponse reviews some of Hollywood’s film portrayals of cloning and related
topics. See which ones may be worth your time watching. [Books & Film]

The Heritage Mile
Before her hip-replacement surgery, Doris Heritage and 200 of her students
and friends ran a final mile together — and raised money for the Heritage
Scholarship Endowment. [Athletics]

My Response
Debra Prinzing, 1981 SPU alumna, helps readers find God in their gardens. “… I
think the pursuit of beauty in the garden is a pursuit to know God better,” she
says.